SB 236 increases punishment for possession, manufacturing, and/or use of LSD (penalty group 1A) on school property.

SB 236 would enhance the penalty associated with manufacturing, possession, distribution, and use of LSD within “drug-free zones”.

At a time when criminal justice policy is trending toward alternatives to overly lengthy prison sentences and sentence enhancements that significantly increase an already substantial prison sentence, this legislation moves in the opposite direction. It is already illegal to sell drugs on a school campus. Adding a 5 year sentence “enhancement” to what is already a state jail felony punishable by 2 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines based on an arbitrary distance from the location where the transaction or attempted transaction occurred seems out of sync with current evidence and data-driven reforms in this policy area.

The societal and economic costs of lengthy prison stays for nonviolent offenders are substantial for the offender and for society at large. Balancing our doubts about the efficacy of geography-based sentence enhancements against the government’s legitimate role in preventing drug sales and use at schools, we are neutral on this legislation.